Back Seat Marketers » Advertising

Sense of Urgency + P2P = ‘Dr Pepper is on call’

cory — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:08:53 +0000

Being spread on Twitter is a little free promo from Dr Pepper for a free soda to everyone in America. Sure, it is an email list-build exercise like any other, but Twitter makes this incredibly viral and the ticking clock gives it a hot potato kind of feel. As an experiment in meaningless fun turned marketing event, getting the message in time (sort of, they extended it) gives you the sense of being an insider.

Discovered thanks to popacular.com/twitter.

Watch this closely – Google gets inside P&G’s head

cory — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:16:30 +0000

The WSJ reports today that P&G and Google are swapping employees to get a better understanding of each other. With P&G as one of the leading advertising companies in the world, this move has long reaching upside for Google and P&G.

I’ve noted that Yahoo and Google shouldn’t be focusing on each other, they should focus on growing the market and this move goes further than replicating the Madison Avenue model. If Google can show how it creates value to P&G, and P&G can explain how it builds brands, these two players will revolutionize how interactive marketing is done.

During downturns, companies are forced to find new ways to compete that are under-leveraged while creating real consumer value. What P&G begins testing out of this relationship will be worth watching. At a minimum, Google will better understand what big companies need and how to go after a bigger piece of the traditional marketing pie.

Newsflash: Google in Ad Sales Business, to Shrink in 08 Recession

cory — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:43:32 +0000

FYI, Google is not in the internet business, it is primarily in the advertising and media delivery business.

Google’s PPC traffic report from comScore today reflects the nature of the emerging recession that is gripping most of Corporate America. While technology VCs would like to think that PPC will be the last element of marketing to be touched, because it is ROI oriented, they may be missing an important temporary facet on this point in the short term.

First, companies cut variable costs quickly when facing a down turn. As a result, PPC advertising may actually be one of the only current costs being used, and as a more variable, more responsive cost in the system may get cut because it can get turned on and off so easily. Interestingly, if people slow down buying, and then ROI gets worse making the PPC returns less compelling, we may be seeing a real-time consumer slow down occur via Google’s click traffic.

Second, most major corporate marketing departments aren’t using PPC as the major element of lead generation or sales. As such, the decision to cut “everything else” in the face of having to get rid of programs means that PPC is still fairly high on the list of things to remove when budgets get cut v. the big media splash campaign that supports a new product in store.

One last thought…
Wouldn’t it be interesting to see Google’s new account spend v. existing account comparables?